Bourbon bar The Littlefield to open in Northside

Four Northside residents are working to open The Littlefield, a bar specializing in bourbon and bourbon cocktails, plus food that pairs well with those drinks.

(Photo: Provided)

Located in a historic building at 3930 Spring Grove Ave., it's named after the Littlefield family, which built the former house in the 1870s.

Matt Distel, Chad Scholten and Mike Berry have been talking about a bourbon bar for a few years, Distel said. The three are connected through the art world: Distel is an adjunct curator at the Cincinnati Art Museum and exhibition director at The Carnegie; Scholten is an artist; and Berry is a patron. Joining them in the venture is John Ford, an artist and bartender, who will be the bar manager. They hope to open in June, but it could take until early to mid-July, Distel said.

The drink menu will include "as many bourbons as we can get our hands on," upwards of 50, Distel said, plus classic bourbon cocktails and twists on those classics. They'll make their own bitters, shrubs and cask-aged cocktails.

A regional beer list will feature four to six taps and another 20 or so bottled options. There also will be a full-service bar.

Shoshannah Hafner, the former chef at Honey, the Northside restaurant that closed last June, is creating the food menu and will get the kitchen up and running.

Food will include items that pair well with bourbon -- entrees such as barbecue brisket with buttermilk and sundried tomato slaw, plus savory pies: chicken, mushroom and a seasonal offering. Distel expects those to really ramp up during colder months. Snacks will include house pickled vegetables and bourbon moody blue butter with Sixteen Bricks Bread; for dessert, there will be browned butter Rice Krispie treats with bourbon chocolate chips.

Distel said the aesthetic of the space will be clean and simple, with reclaimed wood and steel.

"The idea is that we'll populate [the space] with art," he said. "We want it to be sort of a blank slate for the art and the bourbon."

Art will include porcelain pieces by two local artists, plus an installation by Visionaries + Voices that Distel hopes will become permanent.

The interior is small, 800 to 900 square feet, but a large outdoor area, encompassing a deck and courtyard, adds about 3,500 additional square feet, Distel said.

The Littlefield will open at 4 p.m. daily and will likely close at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. Distel said they plan to offer drink specials that support neighborhood non-profits, and they will host educational events around bourbon and beer.

"We want to be something that fits into the neighborhood and offers something different," he said.